This section on our environmental performance relates to all employees working in premises owned or leased by ABB, including manufacturing and non-manufacturing sites. It does not cover our customers’ sites or suppliers.
The majority of employees - some 85 percent - are covered by data collected year-on-year from approximately 360 sites, mainly manufacturing and service organizations.
For some non-manufacturing sites, which by nature have only limited environmental impact, we have made assumptions of the levels of their main environmental indicators, such as the use of electricity, district heating and water consumption per person. These assumptions are based on data from comparable premises and relate to about 15 percent of employees. When we have made an assumption, it is stated in the text.
Under the indicators in the GRI Guidelines, we have chosen to report data which is relevant to the environmental impact caused by ABB’s activities, products and services. In recent years we have steadily expanded our data collection system to cover most of the GRI indicators.
However, rather than report the amount of materials used, we believe it is more useful and challenging to report on our use of hazardous substances as defined by official international lists of restricted substances, and to show the progress we are making in eliminating them.
To report precise figures for all other (non-hazardous) materials would be very difficult for a company like ABB, which manufactures such a wide range of products in many different sites, and sources millions of different materials and components globally and locally. Apart from report the amount of materials used, we have reported against all the GRI core environmental indicators and many of the additional indicators.
EN3 - Direct energy use (Gigawatt hours - GWh)
| Primary fuel | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 |
|---|
| Oil (11.63 MWh/ton) | 87 | 104 | 103 |
|---|
| Coal (7.56 MWh/ton) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
|---|
| Gas | 415 | 416 | 437 |
|---|
| District heat | * 259 | * 250 | 223 |
|---|
| Electricity | * 1,321 | * 1,323 | 1,264 |
|---|
| Total energy used | 2,082 | 2,093 | 2,027 |
|---|
* The figure is based on reported data from 85 percent of employees and an assumed energy use of 3 megawatt-hours (MWh) per employee for district heat and 12 MWh per employee for electricity for the remaining 15 percent of employees.
EN4 - Indirect energy use (Gigawatt hours - GWh)
 | Used by ABB | Losses at Utilities | Total use of energy |
|---|
| 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 |
|---|
| District heat | * 259 | * 250 | 223 | 39 | 37 | 33 | 298 | 287 | 256 |
|---|
| Electricity | * 1,321 | * 1,323 | 1,264 | 1,824 | 1,627 | 1,746 | 3,144 | 2,950 | 3,010 |
|---|
* The figure is based on reported data from 85 percent of employees and an assumed energy use of 3 megawatt-hours (MWh) per employee for district heat and 12 MWh per employee for electricity for the remaining 15 percent of employees.
EN16 Greenhouse gas emissions (kilotons)
| 2009 | 2008 | 2007 |
|---|
| C02 from use of energy | * 863 | * 859 | 835 |
|---|
| SF6 (in C02 equivalents) | 263 | **406 | 398 |
|---|
| C02 from transport by own fleet *** | 350 | 350 | 350 |
|---|
* The figure is based on reported data from 85 percent of employees and an assumed energy use of 3 megawatt-hours (MWh) per employee for district heat and 12 MWh per employee for electricity for the remaining 15 percent of employees.
** Result re-stated due to incorrect reporting in 2008. Result originally reported as 357.
*** Estimated figures.
Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions calculations are based on in-house energy use for production, lighting, heating and air-conditioning, and include indirect emissions at utilities where ABB buys power.
The total amount of ABB’s greenhouse gas emissions, based on the WBCSD/WRI Greenhouse Gas Protocol (Scope I and II), is estimated to have been approximately 1.5 million tons In 2009 for the whole ABB Group.
EN18 Greenhouse gas reduction initiatives
ABB is continuing its internal energy efficiency program, saving costs and reducing emissions. ABB's target is to reduce global energy consumption per employee by 2.5 percent per year for 2010 and 2011. To further support this program, ABB has set a target for improving energy efficiency in its buildings by 2.5 percent from 2009 to 2010.
ABB executives take part in global initiatives on climate change such as the electrical utilities working group of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) and the 3C (Combat Climate Change) initiative launched by the Swedish utility Vattenfall. During 2009, ABB signed the Energy Efficiency in Buildings Manifesto of the WBCSD.
EN1 Use of hazardous substances (tons)
| 2009 | 2008 | 2007 |
|---|
| Phthalates – softener for PVC | 16 | 25 | 43 |
|---|
| PBB and PBDE – flame retardants in plastics | 3.1 | 2.3 | 0 |
|---|
| Lead in submarine cables | 3,600 | * 6,596 | 4,750 |
|---|
| Organic lead in polymers | 24 | 36 | n.a. |
|---|
| Lead in other products, e.g. backup batteries and counterweights in robots | 313 | ** 354 | 346 |
|---|
| Cadmium in rechargeable batteries | 4.7 | 6.4 | 21 |
|---|
| Cadmium in industrial batteries delivered to customers | 2.2 | 2.0 | 0.4 |
|---|
| Cadmium in lead alloy *** | 2.5 | * 5.3 | 3.5 |
|---|
| Mercury in products delivered to customers | 0.011 | 0.015 | 0.013 |
|---|
| SF6 insulation gas (inflow to ABB) | 962 | ** 987 | 909 |
|---|
| SF6 insulation gas (outflow from ABB) | 951 | ** 969 | 892 |
|---|
* Increase due to higher business volume
** Result re-stated due to incorrect reporting in 2008. Results originally reported as 318 (lead in other products), 1,200 (SF6 inflow) and 1,184 (SF6 outflow)
*** In 2009, another 50 kg of Cadmium in other uses
As part of its sustainability objectives 2010-2011, ABB will reinforce its efforts to phase out hazardous substances in its products and processes.
EN8 Water consumption (kilotons)
| 2009 | 2008 | 2007 |
|---|
| Purchased from water companies | * 3,300 | * 3,100 | 3,186 |
|---|
| Groundwater extracted by ABB** | 2,900 | 2,700 | 2,800 |
|---|
| Surface water extracted by ABB** | 2,700 | 2,800 | 2,300 |
|---|
* The figure is based on reported data from 85 percent of employees and an assumed water consumption of ten tons/year/employee for the remaining 15 percent of employees.
** Estimated (rounded) figures
EN19 Emissions of Volatile Organic Compounds (tons)
| 2009 | 2008 | 2007 |
|---|
| Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) | 782 | 909 | 850 |
|---|
| Chlorinated Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC-Cl) | 5 | 6 | 13 |
|---|
The major constituents of VOCs and VOC-Cls are xylene, thinner and perchloroethylene.
EN20 Emissions of NOx and SOx (tons SO2 and NO2)
| 2009 | 2008 | 2007 |
|---|
| SOx from burning coal | 0 | 0 | 0 |
|---|
| SOx from burning oil | 64 | 76 | 76 |
|---|
| NOx from burning coal | 0 | 0 | 0 |
|---|
| NOx from burning oil | 48 | 57 | 57 |
|---|
| NOx from burning gas | 90 | 90 | 94 |
|---|
These figures are for fossil fuels consumed in ABB premises for heating and process purposes.
EN22 Waste (kilotons)
| 2009 | 2008 | 2007 |
|---|
| Waste sent for recycling | 118 | 139 | 126 |
|---|
| General waste sent for disposal | * 29 | 35 | 38 |
|---|
| Hazardous waste | 6 | 7 | 6 |
|---|
* The figure is based on reported data from 85 percent of employees and an assumed waste output of 0.28 tons/year/employee for the remaining 15 percent of employees.
EN23 Numbers of significant spills
| 2009 | 2008 | 2007 |
|---|
| Oil spills | 8 | 3 | 6 |
|---|
| Chemical spills | 0 | 0 | 1 |
|---|
| Emissions to air | 4 | 1 | 2 |
|---|
| Others | 0 | 0 | 3 |
|---|
Adequate decontamination procedures were implemented to prevent any permanent contamination of soil and water due to these spills. Corrective actions, such as improved control systems, have been taken to reduce the risk of future spills.
EN28 Significant fines for non-compliance
During 2009, no significant fines for non-compliance were reported.
The remainder of the GRI environmental indicators are reported in the Sustainability Performance 2009 report.